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The Strategic Roles of Information Technology in XYZ Paper Industry Limited, Kenya
No full textThe digital revolution has given mankind the ability to treat information with mathematical precision, to transmit it at very high accuracy and to manipulate it at will. Information Technology innovations have the potential for changing the competitive game for any organization. This is because it helps to catalyze efficiency in the provision of better procedures resulting in better production and services. This study aimed at examining the strategic roles of Information Technology in XYZ Paper Industry Limited. The study used descriptive research design and used 51 who were drawn from various departments of XYZ Paper Industry Limited. The study made use of both secondary (literature review) and primary data. Primary data was collected by means of questionnaires and analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). It was found that Information Technology plays a strategic role in the company,which results in improved financial performance of the company. This research concluded that Information Technology indeed has a stategic role in the improvement of financial performance.
Keywords: Strategic Role of Information Technology, XYZ Paper Industry Limited, Keny
Cultural Orientation and Customer Satisfaction. A study of African Airlines
No full textThe extent to which members of different cultures vary in their reactions to uncertainty can have a major impact on how perceived service quality affects customer satisfaction. This is so particularly to service industries in an era of rapid internationalization. Thus, the objective of this paper was to investigate the effect of cultural orientation on customer satisfaction in the context of an airline. The sample consisted of 750 customers drawn from 9 selected African Airlines, selected through stratified and simple random sampling techniques. Before testing the hypotheses testing, data collection instruments were purified by utilizing a structure model equation and confirmatory factor analysis. The findings of this study show that cultural orientation had a positive and significant influence on customer satisfaction among African airlines. Insight on using culture for directing resources where quality investments are needed most is provided to managers. Given the novelty of the findings, the study recommends that African airlines must invest heavily in cultural orientation to foster identity, commitment, attitudinal and behavioral, which fosters long-term customer satisfaction.
Keywords: Cultural Orientation, Customer Satisfaction, Service Quality, Customer Loyalt
Organizational Leadership Styles and Change Management in Telecommunication Industry in Kenya: Case Study of Telkom Kenya
No full textThe purpose of the study was to examine the effect of organizational leadership styles on change management in the telecommunication industry with the specific reference to Telkom Kenya Ltd. The study was anchored on, Adaptive leadership theory, and Kurt Lewin change theory. The target population was 1450 employees of Telkom Kenya. Stratified proportional sampling was used to get a suitable sample of 145 respondents and the study adopted a descriptive research design. Questionnaires were the main data collection tool and they were pilot tested on 15 staff at Telkom Thika branch before being administered to the target audience. Analysis of data was done using Statistical Package for Social Sciences Version 24. Descriptive statistics, specifically, means, averages and percentages were used to analyse individual variables. Simple tabulations were used to presented descriptive statistics. This study also used inferential statistics to examine the relationship between the study variables. Data was analysed using quantitative methods through regression analysis and presentation of data was in form of tables and figures. The study established that organizational leadership styles have significant effect on change management. Specifically the findings indicate that organizational leadership style and change management are positively and significantly related (r= 0.685, p<0.01). This study concluded that organizational leadership styles play an important role in change management such that change in the leadership style results in positive variation in change management. The study recommended that, Telkom Kenya should treat leadership styles in the organization as one of the critical survival factors when implementing changes.
Key Words: Organisational Leadership Styles, Change Management, Telecommunication Industry, Telkom Kenya
Determinants of Project Implementation in the Public Sector: The Case of Mombasa Water and Sewerage Company
No full textProject management a strategic competency for an organization, enabling them to tie the project results to business goals and thus better compete in their markets. The purpose of the study was to find out the determinants of projects implementation in the public sector, with specific focus on Mombasa Water and Sewerage Company. The objectives of the study were: to establish the effect of resource planning in project implementation by Mombasa Water and Sewerage Company; to examine the extent to which client involvement influences project implementation by Mombasa Water and Sewerage Company; to explore the extent to which corporate management in Mombasa Water and Sewerage Company influences project implementation. A descriptive design was appropriate for this study as it enabled the researcher to investigate the target population and establish the issues under investigation. The study established that most challenging element experienced in terms of resource planning in this organization is inadequate dialogue with interlinked agencies early in project preparatory stages; most challenging element experienced in terms of client involvement in this organization is poor project handover interface; Management inability to anticipate short-term disruptions: inability to encourage creativity and resourcefulness; inability to reveal the fulfillment of short-term deliverables to the beneficiaries; inadequate work inspection and poor relations between engineers and contractors are an impediment to project implementation in the organization; payment documentations and approval procedures; compliance to statutory regulations difference in reporting formats and time frames and funds transfer and disbursement processes are an impediment to successful project implementation to a large extent. Adequate factors of production need to be optimized and timely deployed in the process of generating value projects. The study recommends that client involvement at earlier stage in the project implementation process need to be enhanced as it remains of ultimate importance to determine whether the clients for whom the project has been initiated will accept it without their involvement; organizations need to comply with specific conditions to avoid predictability in terms of budget aid and donors have a basis for becoming partners if they are able to agree on a purpose
Factors Influencing Performance of Building Construction Companies: A Case of Selected Firms in Kilifi County, Kenya
No full textThe demand for buildings in Kenya has led to developers encroaching land demarcated (Gazzeted) as public land. Of recently the Kenya government has addressed land grabbing issues by demolishing unplanned building structures. Scarcity of land has forced developers to opt for high rise buildings hence a rise in cases of collapsed buildings forcing government to take measure in combating illegal unapproved building constructions. The purpose of this study was to establish factors that influence performance of building construction companies in Kilifi County, Kenya. Researcher collected a sample of 51 from 58 Target populations. Researcher had four independent variables for matters concerning objective, questions, and hypothesis under study: firstly independent variables which were :Contractors competences denoted by X1; Contractors compliance with government policies X2; Contractors financial capacities X3 and contractors technological capabilities X4, Secondly Dependent variable was performance of building firms (Y). Data ware tabulated, presented through frequency and finally analyzed with the aid of statistical Package for social services (SPSS version 24). Researcher utilized a Likert scales ranging from scale 1 - Strongly Disagree to 5-Strongly Agree. The findings revealed that all independent had a mean greater than 3 meaning they had influence on performance of building construction firms.(Contractors competences X1 = 4.925; Contractors compliance with government policies and regulations X2 = 4.90 contractors financial X3 = 4.93 Contractors technological capabilities X4 = 4.915 and dependent variables, Performance of building contractors had Y= 4.9). The study concludes that contractors compliance with government policies had the highest mean of 4.98 and Technological capabilities were the lowest with a mean of 4.195. The study recommended planning of works before execution, Stakeholders participation, utilizing work breakdown structure and work schedule to monitor progress of work. Fiscal strategies adopted to assess loans at low interest rate. Contractors encouraged regularly saving money and acquiring assets for financing future projects
Key words: Contractors competences; Government policies and regulations; Financial capacities; Performance of building contractors; Technological capacities
Factors Influencing the Implementation of Sustainable Child Safeguarding Programs. A Case of Child Based Programs in Mombasa County, Kenya
No full textChild safeguarding is increasingly becoming a vital social issue in the contemporary world. This is due to the fact that children are increasingly being exposed to violence, exploitation and all forms of violation of their rights. Mombasa County is one of the regions where childrens lives are being threatened by several forms of abuse. However, the county has actually benefitted from various child safeguarding programs but unfortunately not all have achieved what they had set to do so. The purpose of this study was to establish the factors influencing the implementation of sustainable child safeguarding programs in Mombasa County. The study was guided by four objectives which were financial resources(X1), project team competencies (X2), inter agency partnerships (X3) and monitoring and evaluation (X4) and their influence on implementation of sustainable child safeguarding programs(Y) in Mombasa County. Descriptive research design was adopted for the study. The study sampled (70) respondents who were drawn from (9) child safeguarding programs with a total population of (669) in Mombasa County. Data collection was carried out using questionnaires and key informant interview guide. The quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 24). The study results were presented through tables and narratives. The data was then presented through frequency tables and narrative analysis. All measures were recorded on five-point Likert scales anchored by Strongly Disagree (1) to Strongly Agree (5). The findings clearly showed that all the factors were present in child protection programs with high means of 4.09 for X1, 4.09 for X2, 3.94 for X3 and 4.19 for X4 while the dependent variable Y had a mean of 4.05. Hypothesis was tested after each question as per the objective of the researcher using the simple Chi-Square test. The findings further showed that all the four factors have a positive influence on sustainable implementation of child protection programs in Mombasa County.The study concludes that monitoring and evaluation has highest influence on sustainable implementation of child protection programs with a significant positive change of 0.48 if a unit of it is increased, followed by inter-agency partnership with 0.40, project team competencies had the least influence of 0.027 and financial resources with a 0.169 influence. The study recommends that firms should improve monitoring and evaluation as well as monitor the relationship of interagency partnership because they highly impact the sustainability of child protection programs followed by financial resources and project team competencies. The researcher hopes that other studies in another context will be done to verify the findings.
Key words: Child safeguarding, implementation, sustainability, financial resources, partnerships, monitoring and evaluation
Determinants of Delegation of Duties and Responsibilities in the Administration of Secondary Schools in Mbeere South Sub-County, Embu County, Kenya
No full textDelegation of tasks to the subordinates is an important activity in the administration of schools. It helps the principal in running the institution effectively though it may affect the subordinates negatively depending on how the process is done. The purpose of this study was to investigate on the determinants of delegation of duties and responsibilities in the administration of secondary schools in Mbeere South Sub-county, Embu County, Kenya. The study was guided by specific objectives including the establishment of the effects of training, attitude, incentives and workload on delegation of duties in the administration of secondary schools. The study confined itself to all secondary schools in Mbeere South Sub-county. The study adopted a descriptive research design. The study targeted 35 principals, 35 deputy principals and 315 assistant teachers. The study used questionnaires as the tool to collect data. Before the actual collection of data was done, a pilot test was carried out, where a sample of 10% of the targeted population was used. This was to ascertain the validity and reliability of the data collection instruments. Once the data was collected, it was analyzed by the use of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) computer software. The analyzed data was presented using tables, charts and inferential statistics values. Based on the analysis and interpretation, it was found that training of employees on delegation gives the employees the knowledge of conducting the exercise. Further, it was found that attitude; incentives and workload affect delegation of duties and responsibilities in the administration of schools. In this regard then it is recommended to extend the same study to other counties and a comparison of the findings be done.
Keywords; Training, Attitude, Incentives, Workload, Administration of Secondary Schools & Embu County
Effects of Organization Structure on Strategic Change Management in Mombasa County Government
No full textThe Kenyan 2010 constitution attempts to entrench a culture of enhanced service delivery as it pins hopes in the Kenya’s Vision 2030. With this new era, devolved system of governances came to existence calling for creation of new governance structures while also entrenching the value of citizen participation in governance. However, three years down the line only 21% of Kenyans are satisfied with the county government’s performance and 53% of Kenyans expressing their dissatisfaction with the performances of county governments majorly due to invisible developments and service delivery as a result of devolution. Mombasa County has also been shown to face serious challenges in service delivery despite the wide ranging reforms put in place over the years. This study therefore sought to establish how organizational structure influences strategic change management in Mombasa County. The study adopted a descriptive cross-sectional survey design using both qualitative and quantitative approaches involving purposive sampling of at least one senior level manager as key informant from each of the existing department within the county. Qualitative data collected from the 12 key informants were backed up with quantitative data collected using questionnaires administered to 364 junior staff sampled through simple random sampling. Quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS version 21 where relationships between the variables were assessed using correlation and regression analysis while qualitative data were analyzed via content and thematic analysis where emerging themes were presented in form of verbatim. The study found out that there was a positive and significant relationship between Organizational Structure and Strategic Change Management (r=0.318, p=0.000). Based on the findings, the study concluded that Organizational Structure has a positive and significant effect on Strategic Change Management. The study recommends the County government of Mombasa to focus on organizational structure since it was found to have a positive and significant effect on the strategic change management. This study noted that organizational structure contributes to a greater extent towards a change management process.
Keywords: Organizational Structure, Strategic Change management, County government and implementatio
Effects of Organizational Culture on Strategic Change Management in Mombasa County Government
No full textOrganizational culture has the ability to shape organization's capacity for and receptiveness to change as well as the ability to shape the speed and efficiency with which things are done which also has to do with the skills and competencies of the respective managers. Therefore, organizational change often requires changing the organization's culture and learning. It has been noted that initial reforms implemented in Kenya were not very successful in attaining the desired objectives as the civil service grew progressively inefficient hence threatening to halt the growth of the economy. With the devolved system of governances, three years down the line only 21% of Kenyans are satisfied with the county government's performance and 53% of Kenyans expressing their dissatisfaction with the performances of county governments majorly due to invisible developments and service delivery as a result of devolution. Mombasa County has also been shown to face serious challenges in service delivery despite the wide ranging reforms put in place over the years. The study established the effect of organizational culture on strategic change management in Mombasa County Government. Both retrospective and cross sectional descriptive survey research design were adopted. The study was conducted among 4102 employees of the County Government of Mombasa. 12 key informants were picked using convenience sampling method while simple random sampling was adopted to sample 364 junior staff. Findings indicated that there was a positive and significant relationship between Organizational Culture and Strategic Change Management. The study recommended the County government of Mombasa to focus on organizational culture since they were found to have a positive and significant effect on the strategic change management.
Keywords: Organizational culture, Strategic Change management, County government and implementatio
Leadership Style and Employee Turnover Intentions in Organizations in Kenya: A Case of XYZ Company
No full textMany organizations are facing turnover issues caused by many factors such as unsupportive leadership, disparity in labor market, bad work climate, job dissatisfaction, and so on. Reducing employee turnover is not rocket science; however, many companies struggle with very high turnover year every year. The common denominator of high turnover in organizations is poor leadership. Therefore, organizations that stress leadership development have an inherent advantage that can mean the difference between survival and extinction, work quality diminishes productivity decreases, attitudes drop. Consequently, it is very important to study if there is a relation between the leadership behaviors which impact on staff turnover. The study determined the relationship between leadership style and employee turnover intentions at XYZ Company. The study employed a descriptive research design. The study targeted population of 420 employees from XYZ Company and obtained a sample of 200 respondents. The study used both primary and secondary data sources. The study employed descriptive analysis and regression analysis. The findings showed that taking all other independent variables at zero, a unit increase in Transformational leadership style would lead to a 0.862 increase in the employee turnover intentions in XYZ Company. Further, the findings shows that a unit increases in Transactional leadership would lead to a 0.735 increase in employee turnover intention in XYZ Company. In addition, the findings show that a unit increase in Laissez-faire leadership style would lead to a 0.564 increase in employee turnover intentions in XYZ Company. Also, the findings show that a unit increase in democratic leadership style would lead to a 0.437 increase in employee turnover intentions in XYZ Company. Leaders were expected to find and correct their own errors. Leaders had good knowledge of appropriate social control mechanism. The study concluded that the manager- employee relationship was characterized by fear. Leaders involved staff in making organizations programs. Leaders delegated duties to members and expected them to accomplish without supervision and were less concerned with what staff members do. They had a vision of extra ordinary goals and the ability to motivate employees to achieve better performance. Leaders at XYZ Company should consult the group and manager should tell employees what to do and how to do it. Leaders need to involve staff in making organizations programs, gets group approval in important matters before going ahead and is friendly, supportive and considerate towards others. Leaders need to be concerned with what staff members. Leaders should have a vision of extra ordinary goals and the ability to motivate employees to achieve better performance.
Keywords: Transactional Leadership, Transformational Leadership Style, Democratic Leadership Style, Laissez-Faire Leadership, Turnover Intentions and XYZ Company